Frozen Promise
by Risika Aki
Summary: Three runaways and a murderer are bound by the events of one strange night, will it be enough to stand the threat of Ragnarok itself?
1. Default Chapter

Frozen Promise

A/N: The first chapter of the story is an introduction, the 'promise' I've mentioned about, is yet to come in the following chapters.

Chapter 1Novice Abychsel

"Lord Abychsel, its too much for her…" a hunter remarked as he followed his lord's march in haste towards his daughter's room. Several hunters followed behind them, trying to keep up pace, while a priest and a sage followed far behind the party, admiring the paintings and items on display along the hallways of his lord's mansion. His lord seemed not to hear him, but he continued to try and catch his attention, "My lord…she's been forced to become a novice before her time…and even with the training, we would still have to rely on her luck rather than her skill,"

"Shut up Tavos!" Lord Senkain Abychsel roared, as he turned on his heel to face his subordinate, "I should give you just punishment for even trying to meddle in how I should raise MY daughter, she's an Abychsel! In God's name, she has my blood in her…and she WILL handle what I tell her to do, or lose her Abychsel blood by death in the process!"

The hunter silenced, and suppressed the brewing anger within him as he glared at the snickering hunters that eyed him degradingly.

In a distant room of the mansion, a young girl's head raised in anticipation as she heard heavy footsteps heading towards her. Hayrinn glanced up at the wooden willow doorway as it swung open, and immediately she rose from her sprawled position on the bear footskin rug and bent in a curtsy to her Father when he entered, followed by several hunters, a priest, and a sage. "Welcome back, father…" she greeted jovially, smiling up at him.

She was given a stern look, and a small grunt which she believed was meant to acknowledge her greeting. She was donned in a novice ninja suit that had been made for youngsters far from her build, and for those years older than she was.

"Hayrinn, I've brought you some presents…" Senkain Abychsel announced, watching his daughter as she gazed up at him in eager and childlike anticipation.

"is it a toy or a doll?" she inquired, her blue eyes were wistful and excited as she seemed to suppress her anticipation.

The man before her smirked, seemingly berating her for being so childish as he took from his cape, a knife—the hilt was ornately carved, and the look of it alone was beautiful without a doubt, and from Hayrinn's entranced gaze, he knew that the child was both in awe and curiosity of the item he held out to her. The man extended the weapon to his daughter, and watched her hold her hands out to take it.

The dagger landed on her palms and he watched her observe it, "What is it?" she asked openly. The hunters behind him smiled suspiciously, and one of them went forward, pulling with him a creature.

The creature's red eyes slanted menacingly, while its dark hair flailed about as though a typhoon surrounded its atmosphere. The skin on the creatures face and body was ash grey as it continued to force itself to hide amongst the shadows of the large room in retaliation to the forceful pull of the rope tied around its wrist, and the glint of a silver knife against its throat.

Hayrinn gasped, "Father…it's a sohee…"

"I'm glad you know…" her father grinned, though his face showed no hint of what emotion he held behind his forced smile. "Go and tame it with your knife…"

It seemed more an order than a prodding, and Hayrinn obeyed immediately. Her young heart bled for her father's approval, even if it meant facing the terrifying creature before her.

"Hayrinn," a hunter began, his voice was low and intimidating, "this creature led the sohees in the Payon caves, and her strength of mind alone had been enough to break three silver knives of chastity that we used to control her until she arrived here…at this moment, the one we're using on her is on the verge of shattering, once it does, use your knife and try to tame her…" the hunter smiled at her and handed her a main gauche, "just in case you cant…use this to protect yourself, until we can kill her…"

Soon after, the hunter threw silver knife of chastity that he had held against the sohee to the carpeted floor, and in Hayrinn's hawk-like gaze, it seemed to vibrate and shiver as hairline cracks began to appear upon its blade, ready to shatter it. The two items, one for taming, and one for protection, quivered unsteadily in her hand. She mustered up as much strength as her thirteen-year old body could provide, and positioned herself in a battle stance while her eyes took on a fiercely dark shade of sapphire blue that meant to intimidate the sohee.

"_trying to be brave are you not?" _a voice resounded in her head, and she stifled a gasp of surprise when she saw the sohee's eyes glow scarlet as its lips poised in a menacing grin. _"Do not bother trying to hide your thoughts…you are too inexperienced to even attempt to block out my voice," _it continued,

From the corner of her eye, she saw her father and his companions back off a distance from them. None of them even drew their bows and arrows in attempt to save her lest she fail to tame the sohee. Only Tavos seemed to hold a slight sign of pity and sadness for the young novice before him.

"_You are too young to be a novice…"_the sohee's voice questioned, and she felt a throbbing headache as she fought the creature's forceful delving into her mind, her thoughts, her feelings, her memories. _"I see…the man who leads the hunters who try to tame me is your father?"_

"_Cease your intrusion on my thoughts damn sohee!" _She answered back mentally, and she blistered with anger when the sohee seemed more amused than threatened by her insult.

"_I've gotten all I need to know from your thoughts, and just why you're a novice, when at your age…you shouldn't even be allowed to touch a weapon," _The sohee's voice in her head grew soft and mellow, as though trying to soothe her, "_Child…I do not wish to hurt you, but you're desire to please that man you call 'father' is pushing you to do what he wills, do not try and force me…I have a proposition for you…"_

A/N: The other chapters are soon coming up…please R&R,


	2. Hayrinn's Mark

**Chapter 2**

Hayrinn's Mark

Senkain Abychsel watched mutedly as several emotions played fleetingly on his daughter's face. He could tell that the sohee was taunting her, and from his assessment, his daughter was not faring well against it.

The girl's blue gaze was fierce and angry, yet underneath it…he could see glints of fear and uncertainty which he knew the sohee had somehow tapped into and used against her.

Without warning, a piercing wail reverberated in the closed room, the silver knife of chastity shattered into pieces and he watched breathlessly as the sohee launched itself towards his daughter.

Hayrinn clutched her Main Gauche tightly on her left hand and reversed its blade, sidestepping the swing of the sohee's stiletto that managed to cut a lesion into her arm. She was not agile enough to escape, and the cut was deep enough to have blood flow steadily from it.

Her skinny build made her almost weightless, as she tried as much as possible to jump and avoid the stiletto thrusts.

"_You realize I could kill you anytime I wish…"_ the sohee's voice was mocking, and she cringed at the sound of the creature's voice in her head. _"Do you realize that I'm merely toying with you before I decide to kill your father?"_

Several cuts appeared all over her body, sending small trickles of blood to drip and spatter from her with each evasive movement she used to escape.

"_Kill me if you wish, sohee…but I shall leave my mark on you before I die,"_ Hayrinn swore, as she swung her main gauche only to slice at empty air when the sohee's hovering form avoided it.

The clash of the metal blades of a stiletto and a main gauche left a cacophonous sound that made the men in the room flinch. So far, their young lady was doing well…but it was obvious that she would soon lose, and their lord seemed not to care in the least that his daughter was in danger of death.

A muffled intake of breath from the young novice, ceased the men from breathing as they watched the sohee draw her stiletto from Hayrinn's side, bright red blood dripped steadily from its blade, while a stream of wine red blood flowed from the young novice, staining the carpet.

"_You are too weak to be an Abychsel! Weakling child!",_ Hayrinn heard the thought of her father passed onto her by the sohee, and she stared wildly at the sinister glow in the creature's scarlet eyes, and likewise…the disapproving gaze of her father.

"You heard that, right?"The sohee whispered as it hovered close to her, its voice low and scornful, "The man you wish to please has no care for you or your fate…"

"Shut up!" She screamed, as she continued to evade the sohee. "Do not manipulate me…my father will never think that! You are nothing but a hateful creature! Monster!"

"Cease calling me sohee or creature, Hayrinn" the sohee prodded, "I have a name…you can call me Ryekie", she hovered around the novice teasingly, knowing full well the chaos unleashed in the young girl's head, making the novice lose concentration. In the fit of the girl's confusion, Ryekie smirked and moved in for a slash at the girl's neck.

Hayrinn used her size as an advantage and ducked, having the stiletto cut a lock of her hair instead of her throat. In one swift movement she was at the sohee's back and used her main gauche to slash it deeply from her left shoulder down to it's waist.

The sohee did not even wince, and proceeded to advance at the novice. _"Do not force yourself girl…the wound at your side is bleeding heavily…a few more minutes and you'll die from loss of blood,"_

She could sense the panic in the girl without needing to invade into her mind. Human's released an aura that only monsters like herself, with honed senses could detect…and at that moment, she could feel the terrified ambiance around the girl.

She did not enjoy toying with the girl, but she wanted to see what reaction she could gain from the girl's father…if only by prolonging the girls life when she could end it in one decided thrust of her stiletto. But even when his daughter faced the certainty of death, nothing but annoyance and discontent of his daughter's battle skills marred the man's features.

"_I guess I'll have to kill you now…" _Ryekie passed the thought to the girl and watched as a terrified expression rose on her comely face. Suddenly it receded and a seemingly glassy blank stare surfaced in her eyes.

Slowly, to the sohee's amazement, a crazed ferocity emerged in the girl's eyes, and for a fleeting moment, she found a barrier blocking her entry to the novice's thoughts. The main gauche clashed with her stiletto, and to her surprise, a hairline crack lined its smooth blade, the unexpected surge of strength seemed to emanate from every pore of the novice's body, and the loss of blood seemed increase her prowess rather than hinder her strength.

The ferocity of the novice's attack caught the sohee by surprise, and she found herself pushed backwards that she had to descend and allow her feet to steady her against the novice.

A strong sideward slash managed to hurl the stiletto to one side, and with her tight clutch on the stiletto, the sohee's body twisted in her weapon's direction, leaving her right shoulder open to attack---at once, a sharp slice left a vertical lesion from hip, upwards to her right shoulder.

The young girls small figure moved lithely with her size and weight, but the sohee was not in the least perturbed by her injuries. The novice was losing blood fast, with every ounce of effort she placed in her swings and thrusts, blood poured freely from the numerous wounds on her body, leaving trails of them on the carpet and spatters of them on the walls with each turn and advance she made.

The sohee aimed her stiletto at her opponents heart, and she heard a sharp intake of breath when she finally thrust it deeply in the novice's flesh. The girl slumped into the sohee, her arms around the creature's shoulders for support.

Ryekie glared at Hayrinn's limp form and saw the tip of her stiletto's blade appear on the other side of the girl's thin body, blood dripped slowly from it. "_You surprised me, novice, you had talent…but you wasted it all in pursuit of your father's love," _the sohee passed the thought into the novice, though she knew her opponent was likely dead_. "Your father sent you to your death…I'll kill the source of your young life's misery, young one…you should have taken up my offer…"_

The sohee began to push Hayrinn's limp body to the floor in order to kill the girl's father, when suddenly, she felt a blade make a straight horizontal cut at the center of her back, and as she pulled at the novice's bloody ninja suit to look at her foe, she caught a glimpse of the girl's blue eyes staring defiantly at her.

Her surprise was doubled when the silver knife of chastity was lifted and positioned at her jugular vein, "Your name was Ryekie, right?" the novice whispered, a smile of satisfaction poised on her lips, "Choose now…to have me as your mistress or die…"

The sohee stared incredulously at the girl who demanded to be her master despite her weak and wounded state. Glancing at the stiletto still buried in the novice's body, she saw that she'd missed her heart and had thrust at the girl's septum.

Slowly the novice clutched at the back of the sohee's robe, ripping it and revealing wounds in three straight cuts forming the letter "H". The girl smirked, "Did I leave my mark on you?"

The sohee watched her carefully, crimson eyes met with the dark sapphire blue of novice's. The sohee smiled mysteriously, and sent one single thought to her defiant opponent, _"Yes, my mistress…"_

_A/N: Was that too long? I've finally uploaded Chapter 2, hope you enjoyed, more are coming up soon. Please Read and Review._


	3. A Reason for Battle

Chapter 3

A Reason for Battle…

_"It's been a while…why don't you open your eyes now…" _Ryekie passed the thought to the sleeping novice before her, and she smiled when she saw a reaction.

Her eyes blinked…slowly at first as she tried to get accustomed to the light bathing the inside of her room, and once she did, her hazed focus rested on the sohee who hovered at the side of her bed.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Hayrinn questioned, and watched the seemingly amused smile that traced the sohee's lips.

_"I see you've forgotten…" _the sohee answered mentally, _"Then let me refresh you…"_

All at once, the girl felt as if a strong blow was dealt within her head as a flood of scenes invaded her thoughts…her father…the gift…the sohee…the battle.

Everything seemed a haze at first, but she was forced to remember—images of a stiletto rushing at her made her catch her breath as though it were real...

"_I have a proposition for you…" _Ryekie's words somehow emerged from Hayrinn's chaotic reverie, and soon she remembered the rest of the sohee's so-called proposition…

_the sohee's mental voice spoke soothingly, and Hayrinn soon found herself almost captured in the hypnotic sound of her voice, "I have no business with you…you've done me no wrong, young one…" Ryekie's voice was almost kind, "Your father, Senkain Abyschel…it was he who took me from my sisters and forcedly bound me by silver knives of chastity the entire trip to Prontera…his men harassed me and threatened me with unsavory and lascivious acts, had I not broken the taming items and attacked them to save myself, I would have been subject to horrors unfit even for "creatures" like myself,"_

_Hayrinn could not believe the sohee's accusations, but she was spellbound to the sound of her voice. _

"_Your father has no care for you, save to treat you as a potential weapon, that much I was able to procure when I tried to intrude in his thoughts," the sohee continued, "Hayrinn, I have no business with you…you are innocent in all this, and "monster" as you may think I am, I know honor, and I know justice…as justice demands, I must take revenge on your father, let me kill him for subjecting me to all this, and on my honor, I spare your life, you do not deserve to die, as you have done me no wrong…"_

"_I will not allow you to kill my father!" she had answered mentally, and braced herself for the sohee's attack as soon as the silver knife of chastity shattered to pieces…she would have to be strong…she had someone to protect…her father expected her to…_

They all came at once, and her head throbbed achingly when the sohee ceased feeding memories into her.

_"Do you remember now?"_ Ryekie asked, ignoring the look of pain that still marred Hayrinn's face even as she nodded in answer. _"It would soon subside Hayrinn…don't let it bother you,"_

Hayrinn gazed at what she now knew was her newly acquired sohee slave, but the creature did not even bow to her or call her mistress. "Were those your memories or mine?" she asked,

The sohee smiled, and spoke…her voice was soft and effeminate, a voice that seemed unsuited to a warrior, but it carried with it an air of authority and confident arrogance, "They were yours…memories you yourself wanted to forget, ones that I wont let you forget…"

"But you're my pet!" she answered in anger, "I should be the one to tell you what to do and what not to do…you had no right reminding me of our battle!"

"Do not call me your pet!" Ryekie snapped, her voice low and derisive, "Humans like your self tend to believe that monsters like me have no sentience other than to serve when they're tamed,"

Hayrinn silenced at sohee's sharp words, and chose her words carefully the next time she spoke, "Did I really tame you?" she asked, and received an all knowing smile from the sohee. She watched Ryekie descend from floating and perch herself at her bed. She lifted herself to a sitting position in order to face the sohee eye to eye,

"I conceded your mastery over me, but that does not mean I'm your slave…" Ryekie answered, her eyes sparkling clear like ruby gems.

"Then why are you with me?"

"Because I find you interesting…" the sohee answered lightly, revealing nothing else in her eyes, "…your father treats you as a potential weapon, and since our battle…I could see why…"

Ryekie's words haunted her. _"He treats me as a potential weapon…"_ she thought, as she stared at her wounded and bandaged body, _"Was it worth protecting him?"_

"Do not bother yourself with thoughts of that man…" Ryekie chided, as her eyes flashed in hate for the girl's father,

"But why? Why call me a weapon?" Hayrinn began,

"Because you have talent and potential, and I know I will enjoy having you as a student…I want to have one who's meant to become a great warrior…," Ryekie smiled mysteriously,

"But I am not a sohee!" Hayrinn said in indignation,

"Is that a problem? You will learn from a true warrior…unlike that Tavos, I will not purposely hinder your training…" she added wryly.

"Surely you must be joking…" Hayrinn answered in disbelief, ignoring her mention of Tavos and his mock training.

Ryekie laughed at the novice's reaction, "I led my sisters in the Payon caves, and though they had more strength and the advantage of finely honed senses, they have no spirit…they only wish to train to protect themselves, they do not try to improve what they learn, to find any other reason for battle other than self-preservation…"

"But isn't that why men battle? To protect themselves…" Hayrinn asked.

"But it is also why sohees will always be fated to end up in slavery or death…" Ryekie answered with contempt, "Humans have reasons that give them greater strength—be it to protect someone, to fight for righteousness, or to simply kill for amusement…these reasons are a source of an unknown power that fuels them…enough power to have even monsters of greater skill and ability, fall to them…"

"Is that why you wish to train a human?"

"Could you not tell?" Ryekie smiled as though the answer were obvious.

"But I'll kill your kind…sohees and other monsters—by training a human, you'll be betraying them all…" Hayrinn insisted,

"Is that all you worry about Hayrinn?" Ryekie asked, unperturbed by the novice's words, "Or are you simply afraid?"

Hayrinn gulped apprehensively as she stared at the sohee's scarlet eyes…they seemed to bore into her being, to see past all she was and know more of her than she herself would care to know or admit.

Ryekie laughed mockingly, "Yes, I see…you _are _afraid!", her eyes flashed with disappointment…but slowly they flickered away, and were replaced by glinting hints of amusement, "Believe it or not Hayrinn, but you have something in you…one you will not admit to having, but do not worry…I'll help you see it and make use of it…"

Slowly, the sohee's hand reached out to her and clamped her on her skull, she felt a searing heat emanate from the sohee, and she felt herself recede into a dazed state…

_"A reason…a reason…" _a voice so like her own seemed to whisper, and she strained to hear it not knowing where the source was,

_"You had a reason…and it was not to protect,..", _it was her voice, she could tell it was…yet it was strangely low, and lined with scorn, "_…admit it!"_

A/N: as always, please leave a review…thanks!


	4. Heimdall's Council

A/N: Thanks for the reviews! I really appreciated them, I have to agree that Hayrinn's transition was a bit fast...she still can't handle sohees, she's a novice after all…and facing it, she had to lose…

Added Note: this is a sort of interlude in the storyline, which have no mention of Hayrinn and Ryekie. This is to introduce other principal characters in the story other than the two, after all…the story doesn't revolve solely around them.

Chapter 4

Heimdall's Council

The sound of clattering greaves and cacophony of full plates and swords resounded against the stone walls of sage castle, where the scholars worked and slaved over research and study, and where even the lightest of sounds were enough to earn a derogatory gaze from sages who deigned silence as the ultimate virtue.

Even as the sages stared at the source of clamor with emotions short of contempt, the Pronteran Guardsmen proceeded to rattle the silence of the castle with the sound of their plates, swords, shields, and greaves, completely ignoring crude remarks on their incivility and disrespect for disrupting the scholars' studies with the noise of their armor.

There were four of them—a knight, a crusader, a swordsman, and a novice, who bore the insignia of the Pronteran Guard.

At the head of them was a heavily built man who seemed to fill every crevice and curve of his full plate and whose arms bulged with muscles that spoke years of incessant training and experience in service of his King and country. His hair was long and blonde, tied behind his head and hidden by his fin helm, while his beard and moustache was neatly trimmed. His entire physique was made to intimidate, yet, if one looked closer, his sky-blue eyes were small and crinkled with laugh lines, and they spoke of much warmth and easy laughter.

"Sir Valgas…" a voice spoke in whisper—partly deep, and cracked…broken with the beginnings of adolescence.

At once, the knight turned to look at a tall young boy, facing him with bright blue eyes and a face framed by golden blonde hair.

"What is it Erichlus?" the knight answered, ceasing his party's march through the hallways of sage castle to talk to the novice behind him.

"The castle is so darn gloomy…and the sages have been staring at us as though we were unwelcome, is it necessary for me to come here?" the boy asked, gazing sideways at the sages, and shrugging away from their stares.

"Erich!" the swordsman with the party reproached, his eyes staring down at the novice, "An order is an order…you can't let these scholar weaklings intimidate us with their stares, after all, most of them prefer a book as a weapon than a sword…what are they gonna do? Read us to sleep?"

The swordsman's barbed words left the novice with no choice save to look away from him in embarrassment.

"Come now, Xylus, don't be too harsh on the boy…" Sir Valgas began, though his words were gentle, his eyes stared daggers at his subordinate. "Just think this…these men have enough brains that a sword's end would not reach the other side of it…"

The swordsman called Xylus silenced, and stuck out his tongue at the blonde novice, who made faces at him.

Sir Valgas chuckled at the antics of his two trainees, and led the march further into the castle. They arrived at a huge door, carved with a circle within a circle, and surrounded by inscriptions of ancient script—a magical formation. There were many carvings within the formation, but were ones that swordsmen had no business nor care to discern…that was the job of sages.

The door opened and both novice and swordsman trainees stared in awe while their superiors reacted with indifference to the majesty of the room they beheld.

The room was circular, surrounded by tables that rose up with each stair that led to them…seated behind them were men of every job and class, those that seemed to be of authority in their chosen field. Their stern and serious faces were lighted by a glass domelike structure at the ceiling that emanated a radiant light enough to illumine the room, yet not powerful enough to blind those within it.

Amidst the seriousness and dead calm of the enclosed room, an old sage smiled upon seeing the head knight and his men. The man's white beard fell partway to his chest, and wizened green eyes stared at the swordsmen behind thick spectacles rimmed with golden frames. His Magic instructor's hat was perched on his head, it's tip, slightly bent from years of use, but his robes were flowing and clean. "It's nice to see you again, Sir Valgas Vente…" he greeted,

"Same goes to seeing you, Aldous Sagezus…" the knight answered.

"Now, everyone is here...important matters must be discussed…" Aldous Sagezus began, as the room fell in complete attention to the sage's words, "Send your groomsmen and subordinates to the room adjacent to ours …only the men of Heimdall's council are allowed to attend…"

The novice and swordsman stared at their superior, waiting for his order, even when the other men began to walk out of the room,

"You heard the man…move out…" Sir Valgas ordered, and watched as the two youths left the room with his partner crusader. He sighed audibly, and candidly remarked on the stiff protocol…

Sage Aldous smiled almost sadly, which mirrored the same expression on most of the men in the room. "I'd agree to your statement Valgas, but this time…it was not merely protocol which drove me to send even our most trusted men out…"

The knight's expression grew grim, "Is it bad?" he asked, yet he did not need an answer…the faces of the men in the room were enough to make him feel the gravity of seriousness that hovered over them all.

At once, the sage stood, and began to speak in a voice of regal authority. "All you hear…Heimdall's council was founded to correct the mistakes of our predecessors during the first Ragnarok, and to prevent it from happening again…Call out your name, present yourself as the best of your field, and pledge your allegiance to our cause!"

One by one, the men within the room stood and presented themselves.

"Sir Valgas Vente of the Pronteran Guard,"

"Alchemist Ciera Valicreus of Al de Baran Alchemy,"

"Blacksmith Axelle Melfyne of Pronteran Weaponry…"

"Monk Sendros of St. Catalina Abbey"

"Priest Ranulf Tavenress of the Pronteran Sanctuary"

"Professor Havensir Brenwurr of the Geffenia Magical Academy"

"Hunter Carsov Tieretaren of Payon Archery,"

Aldous Sagezus acknowledged their presence, "Men …and women," he began, looking in the direction of Ciera Valicreus and Axelle Melfyne, "You've pledged your allegiance to Heimdall's council as the best in your field…and I welcome you all to bear burden of our predecessor's mistakes in bringing about the first Ragnarok…"

The room filled with an atmosphere of foreboding from the Sage's words, and they stayed in awkward dread and anticipation as he spoke...

"Heimdall's council has worked through the ages to prevent the same mistake from repeating itself, but in the process, our foolishness of more than a decade ago are on verge of coming against us with vengeance…"

Uproar came about within the room, as even the silent monk, Sendros could not hold himself back…"Impossible!" he shouted, his outburst coupled that of the rest of the council members. "I thought we took care of that! This was not to happen!"

"We cannot deny this!" Sage Aldous's voice rose above the din of the council, "Ladies and gentlemen…we have to make amends for the great mistake we made those many years ago,"

"We've taken care of that, have we not?" Sir Valgas asserted, "There was not supposed to be a mistake…everything of that 'mistake' was sealed and left to be forgotten, why bring this all up again, Aldous?"

"Valgas, we've sealed it…but it seems fate did not deign it to remain that way, I've done research during the past months, and it seems…we cannot keep on with forgetting what we've done, we must accept it and do something, for now I know…our mistake…might bring us all to destruction…"

Sharp intakes of breath were audible in the dead silence of the room.

"C-Could it be?" Priest Ranulf stammered, his eyes grew wide with disbelief and he slumped weakly into his chair,

"I believe it is…I know it is…" Hunter Carsov said with ominous calm, "We cannot help it…"

"Is it…" Ciera Valicreus began, quivering as she spoke, "Is it Aesir Rune?"

Sage Aldous nodded,

"What of the others?" Axelle Melfyne asked, holding Ciera's hand in hers. She had to know…though she herself feared an answer,

"The others as well…" The sage answered, he seemed to grow older by the second. "They're soon to come…"

"Helles Elvidnir…and Vali Vitharr" Sir Valgas whispered blankly, watching the council members drop to their seats, one by one…sapped of strength and will to remain standing.

Aldous Sagezus stared sadly at them all,

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Heimdall's council…" he began with notable sorrow in his words, "We have been watching and waiting for the coming of Ragnarok…train your men and apprentices to be strong! They will rebuild Rune-Midgard after its destruction if they survive! Ragnarok will come without warning…all we can do is prepare…and hope it would not come too soon…"

A/N: Once again, please leave a review for this one and that of the next chapter, thanks!


	5. Sealed Rooms

A/N: I don't know how to introduce this chapter, you'll just have to read it for yourself…

**Chapter 5**

**Sealed Rooms**

The room was closed, no windows, no doors, nothing that would ever lead out of it...there was no light within the room…save for what emanated from her. She was glowing bright enough for her to see where she stood and where she walked, yet it was not enough for her to light the entire room.

_"Helles, can you hear me?" _she thought, conjuring an image of the boy, imagining him right there with her, "_I hope you do…"_

Tears sprang in her eyes as she reached out to the beloved image, touching his hair and imagining the silken strands between her fingers.

"_Vali…how about you? Do you hear me? I miss you too…" _another image sprang forth…an illusion so beloved and welcome in her loneliness. "_I wanted to see you…" _

Her hand reached out to touch the other boy's face, and in her illusion, she could almost feel the warmth of him, the smooth feel of his skin.

It was hard to control herself—wishing to hold them close, but unable to. She wiped the tears from her eyes and began to walk away, dropping back from her dreams…

She wandered aimlessly, stopping when she came to one of the four walls of the room, and as she reached out to touch it…a crackle of magical power seared her flesh. But she did not flinch, slowly she watched the wound heal…saw her flesh regenerate…saw how the burn left, no mark, no scar, no sign that it had ever been there.

The hair at the back of her neck pricked, and she felt growing dread within her…a dark energy flowed within the room, and she shivered from knowing the hour of torture was to begin again…over and over…until she screamed out in pain…

By instinct, she turned to see hazed images…slowly taking form…Dark Frames—monsters made of mirrors and glass. They did not harm her, did not even attack. The faces in the two mirrors were smiling at her evilly, as though eager to see her suffer…to mirror what her fear looked like when they were through with her. They were her curse.

"Please don't…" she begged, and began to run. Hands emerged from the frames of the creatures, each of them took one of her arms, binding her, "I won't look! I won't! I won't anymore! Please!"

The ghostly faces on the Dark Frames on either side of her smiled, and those same faces hazed and became distorted…changing, becoming more human than ghost-like. She started to sob…"I don't want to see them…no more…I beg you…" she cried, "I don't want the pain anymore…I don't want to see them that way!"

The images in the dark frames grew clear…almost as though they were real…each contour of their faces were clearly defined, each feature distinct from their eyes to each strand of their hair…as though they came directly from her dreams and illusions of them in her loneliness…Helles…Vali…

Each frame showed one person…two men tired and exhausted, their eyes wild, their voices hoarse from screaming, their clothes shred and tattered…dried blood staining their cloaks and bodies.

As the men screamed and shouted from pain and exhaustion…she screamed from pain within…

………………….

A sealed room—his coffin.

He was dying…again. The exhaustion gripped at him, and he swung his sword at the undead monsters before him. They came from a portal that never ceased from sending him the creatures.

The undead monsters…zombies, ghouls, and their kind flocked to him. Their mouths gaped horribly, revealing teeth that reeked of fester; their mouths were almost detached from their jaws, secured only by rotting remnants and tendons of flesh.

They came close to him…their arms, stiff from death reached out to him, clutching at his armor, trying to strip it away from him.

Their jaws clamped down on parts of him that were left unprotected by his armor, and he gritted his teeth to stop from yelling. Blood spurted from his wounds, while the undead creatures licked it up like an elixir.

His eyes grew dim, and he was dying…his vision blurred, then grew dark…he was slipping into death,

_"Vali! Vali!" _the voice was shrill and terrified,

_"Rune…" _he thought, and slowly life poured back into him.

The creatures feasting on him were thrown back by a blinding light that melted their rotting flesh from their bones upon contact.

A dark frame appeared before him…showing him the image of a girl…she was crying again, he could not hear what she said…but he knew that she was calling out to him.

"Rune!" he shouted, lashing out at the ghouls and zombies surrounding him. Slashing his way through them…trying to reach the portal from which they came from.

He was close…the portal was within his reach. The dark frame showed him her images, her face broken with anguish, she had closed her eyes tightly, as though something terrified her.

"_It will happen again…"_ he told himself, as he moved closer to the portal. He grit his teeth and moved forward, forgetting his resolve never to try reaching the portal again, to block out her voice from reaching him…to stop giving him hope and life, only to send him back to death.

He was a foot away from the portal when it began to shrink, to slowly disappear…he never reached it…

The undead monsters began to attack him again. He slumped to the floor, his body exhausted from fatigue…for an immortality of battle that never ended and will continue forever. But as he felt the cold stone beneath him and the hilt of his sword in one hand, he was not thinking of his curse…

A sheer helplessness ate from within him…

"Rune…" Vali whispered brokenly, "I'm sorry…"

……………………

He was chained and shackled in a dark room. The metal cuffs that bound him at his wrists and ankles were cold and grimy with moss and other fungus. He was like a caged animal…bars held him within his room, but only darkness was seen from beyond it…he had nothing to look forward to, he only waited to die…to end his curse.

Suddenly a dark frame appeared before him.

He shut his eyes tightly at first, and opened to see the ghost-like face within the mirror, it was smiling.

The frame disappeared…and was replaced by a small girl, not more than four, holding tightly to a yoyo doll, _"Helles, let's play…" _she coaxed, he smiled as he watched her play with her doll, tossing it into the air and catching it. Her laughter was music, and she ran towards him…holding out the doll…_"Helles, you can be the papa!"_ she smiled,

"What about Vali? What's he going to be?" he asked, playing with the girl,

_"He's papa too_…" she answered candidly,

The image vanished…only to be replaced with a beautiful young girl in a dress. _"Helles! Let's dance!"_ she invited, holding out her arms out to him.

Helles chuckled and reached out to her…suddenly he stopped himself. "No! I won't! I can't!"

The girl looked saddened, "_Come on, Helles…are you mad at me?"_

"No, I'm not…it's just that…I can't…" but his chains vanished, the shackles from his ankles disappeared into thin air.

"_You can dance, cant you Helles?" _she insisted, as she took his hands and placed it surely on her waist. There was no music, but she held fast to him and danced to a tune that was never there…silence.

He was holding her tight now, his arms encircled around her. "Aesir Rune…I…" he began,

"_Helles, you won't hurt me, right?" _she asked, leaning her head against his chest.

"I won't…" he answered,

"_Really?" _she asked again, looking up at him.

"I won't…" he answered surely, suddenly she jumped away from him. "Rune, what's happening!"

"_You won't hurt me right?" _she asked, fear in her eyes.

Suddenly, he felt something in his grip, something familiar…a cold metal hilt…

His body began to move…his feet moved in the direction of the girl. A pulse of adrenaline pumped through his entire body, filling him with unwanted strength. His mind screamed to stop…but he had no will over himself,

"Rune, get away from me!" he ordered, as his body moved towards her…

"_You won't hurt me right?" _she smiled, looking at him trustingly, never leaving her place.

"No! I won't do this again!" he said, searching for control…but his arm raised itself…the dagger seemed to glow with its own light, and thrust itself into the girl's chest. "No! This can't be happening again!" he screamed, feeling the warmth of her blood on his face, on his body, on his hands…

The pain and horror never left his face. Once again, he was back in chains. The girl was on the other side of the prison—dying.

The dark frame appeared once again to him.

"Let me help her! She's dying!" he screamed, pulling his chains, reaching out to her. His wrists were bleeding from the cuts of his metal bonds, yet still, he could not reach her.

He was screaming—the guilt was consuming him, and he ignored the blood from his own…he could no longer tell what was his, and what was hers…they were still blood…marks of his own guilt…

He lost his chains again, and the girl's image appeared again—clean and unstained by blood…alive once again.

"_You won't hurt me right?"_

He moved away from her, knowing what he was to do again…the same dagger appeared in his hands, and he closed his eyes, feeling his body move without his control.

They came over and over again, images of her…alive and happy…and the same thing happened…he was screaming wildly now. He thrust and swung his dagger at images of her until he was bathed in her blood…it was only then he was back in his shackles.

He felt the blood on him dissipate into nothingness. He was tired, and exhausted, his body tense from swings and dagger thrusts, and his eyes stared dazedly at nothing.

He lay on the cold stone floor…no sleep to come to him, no comfort that could ever be offered, and while he stared blankly into the darkness…her words echoed and bounced off the walls…leaving him worse than dead,

"_You won't hurt me right?"_

………………

A/N: as usual, please leave a review…thanks! The next chapter will come soon…


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